Lion That Escaped Tampa Bay-Area Wildlife Sanctuary Has Been Caught

A lion sleeps in its enclosure on August 23, 2011 at the "ZOOM" zoo in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

A lion sleeps in his enclosure. (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

SPRING HILL, Fla. (AP) — A lion that slipped out of an enclosure at a Tampa Bay-area wildlife sanctuary has been caught and tranquilized.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Gary Morse says the 7-year-old female lion will be returned to an “inspected, secure cage” at the Survival Outreach Sanctuary.

Morse says the lion escaped Friday from an inner enclosure at the Spring Hill wildlife sanctuary. Authorities set up a perimeter around the property while they tried to determine whether the lion also had escaped through an outer enclosure.